Mine will be a Guinness

Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:37 AM by Lonely Planet

We all know that St Patrick's Day (17th March) has long been popular beyond its traditional Irish homeland. And yet while everyone knows about the parades in Dublin and New York, one place it never really caught on was London. Until recently. Surprisingly for a city that has seen massive Irish immigration over the centuries (12% of the population claimed Irish ancestry in the most recent census) it wasn't until 2002 that London had its first official St Patrick's Day Parade when 50,000 people showed up for the celebrations in Trafalgar Square. This year's festivities aim to build on previous successes and along with the parade (on Sunday 16th) there's a fortnight long festival from the 6th (with many events at the Irish Centre in Hammersmith), and the Mayor's Irish Dinner on Saturday 15th.

Clifton Wilkinson, Commissioning Editor, Great Britain & Ireland

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